Means and method for handling and stacking railroad ties and the like



March 5, 1946. '0; c. CURTIS 2,396,090

. MEANS AND METHOD FOR HANDLING AND ST&CKIN G RAILROAD TIES AND THE LIKEFiled July 26, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 1' v u u u I 23 23 23 .23

- '26 f2? -26 ze INVENTOR.

' March 5, 1946. D. c. CURTIS 12,396,090

' MEANS AND METHOD F0 HANDLING AND STACKING RAILROAD TIES AND THE LIKEFiled July 26, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

BY M 5211 cams .March 5, 1946. D. c. CURTIS 2,396,090

MEANS AND METHOD HANDLING AND STACKING RAILROAD TIES AND THE LIKE FiledJuly 26, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR,

MEANS AND METHoD' Fo'R HANDLING AND'STACKING March 5, 1946. D c CUR m i2,396,090

RAILROAD TIES AND THE LIKE v Filed July 26, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 4' rINVENTOR.

29- [3 Dwziqh CCurh's Patented Mar. 5, 1946 I 2,396,090 MEANS AND METHODFOR HANDLING AND STACKING RAILROAD TIES AND 'LIKE THE Dwight 0. Curtis,Deerfield, Ill.

Application July 26, 1944, Serial No. 546,618

9 Claims.

My invention relates to material handling devices, with specialreference to the handling, sorting and stacking of elongated objects.For the purpose of the present disclosure, I shall describe,

by way of example, how the invention is applied to the handling ofrailroad ties.

Railroad ties must be handled several times in the course of theoperations of cutting, boring,

treating, seasoning and sorting the ties prior to final use. Since eachtie is so heavy as to require exceptional strength for manual handling,

and, since several million ties arerequired each 7 year, there has beena long standing need for devices and methods to minimize manual handlingof ties and to speed up the sorting and stacking operations. The generalobject of my invention is to meet this need at the various stages in theproduction of ties.

Cross ties, switch ties and bridge ti es are cut to different lengthsand carloads of the ties of mixed lengths are commonly received atpoints for chemical treatment, seasoning and storing. The tiesmust beunloaded, sorted by sizes,stacked with spacers for exposure to air,moved into treating plants and later moved'into stock or storage. One ofthe objects of my invention is to provide a means and a method wherebyties may be conveyed from the railroad cars to selected points in accordwith size, formed into stacks incorporating appropriate spacers and thenmoved into treating plants, all without any manual handling whatsoever.

In general, this object is attained by unloading the ties consecutivelyonto a conveyor system, switching the ties selectively in accord withlength onto elevated branch conveyors or aprons, dropping the ties fromeach elevated apron at spaced points in sequence to form rows on a stacksupport under the apron and periodically increasing the verticaldistance between the stack support and apron to providespace for newrows,

7 each stack support being designed for the convenient removal of afinished stack by a lift truck.

In the preferred practice of my invention, a further object is tominimize the necessity for operators to manipulate controls, positionspacers, or otherwise give attention to the progressive formation of thevarious stacks. 'Ihis'object is attained by a system of controlproviding for cyclic repetition in the sequence of positions at whichthe ties are dropped for distribution on a stack, providing forautomatic increase in the vertical spacing at the top of the stack whenrequired for new rows, providing for the automatic positioning ofspacers after-the completion of each row and preferably also providingfor an automatic signal for the completion of a stack.

The above and further objects of my invention will be understood from mdescription of a preferred practice of the invention and theaccompanying drawings, especially further objects relating to thespecific construction of the distribution apron and objects relating toa circuit arrangement for automatic control.

' In the accompanying drawings, which are to be taken as illustrativeonly; V

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic layout of a system for unloading, sortingandstacking railroad ties for processing and seasoning,

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view at 'one'end of the system showing adistribution apron and an assoelated stack support, certain parts beingomitted for simplicity, the apron being shown in section as indicated bythe line 22 of Figure 3,

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a distribution apron, Fig. 4 is a sectionalview taken as indicated by L the line 4 4 of Fig. 3-,

Fig. 5 is a view of a conveyor member employed in the apron, taken asindicated by the line 55 in Figure 3,

Fig. 6 is an elevation at one of the stacking stations showing a stacksupport and associated means employed for automatic operation,

Fig. 6a is a detail of Fig. 6,

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view indicating the manner in which adistribution apron operates,

Fig. 8 is a similar view taken at the completion of a row of ties on thestack support,

Fig. 9is a fragmentary section taken cated by the line 9-9 of Fig. 6,and

Figs. 10-13 show a wiring diagram of the control system at variousstages in the automatic operation.

as indi- General arrangement Fig. 1 shows, by way of example, how theinvention'may be applied to the problem of unloading ties from freightcars, sorting the ties by length and stacking the ties fortransportation by lift trucks.

An unloading platform 20 is provided to receive ties from a freight car2|, the ties being transported by any suitable means from the interiorof the freight car to a receiving apron 22 for a main conveyor 23. Thisreceiving apron has a support surface comprising a plurality of rollerswhereby the ties thereon may be normally moved with ease onto the mainconveyor. The main conveyor 23 is preferably a well-known type of rollerconveyor in use prior to this invention that a suitable slot in theother side channel.

slopes in both longitudinal directions from the receiving apron 22 forgravity movement of objects thereon and has various tiltable sections25. Opposite each of the tiltable sections 25 is a suitable branchconveyor means 26 constructed in accord with the present invention toserve as a distribution conveyor or distribution apron in a tie-stackingoperation, the ties being dropped from the distribution apron at spacedpoints in sequence onto a stack support, generally designated 21 (Fig.2).

Each of the tiltable sections 25 is remotely controlled by an operatorat the receiving apron 22. When a tie gravitates to a selected section25, the selected section is tilted as indicated in dotted lines inFigure 2 thereby causing the tie to roll over onto the correspondingdistribution apron 26.

Provision is made for intermittently increasing the vertical spacingbetween each distribution apron 26 and the corresponding underlyingstack support 21 to provide clearance for the periodic addition of newrows of ties on the stack support. To this end either the distributionapron 26 or the stack support 2'! may be adapted for vertical movementrelative to the other. In the present preferred practice of theinvention, the stack support 21 is vertically movable while thedistribution apron 26 remains fixed in height,

the stack support being dropped by approximately the thickness of atie'whenever a row of ties is completed. Prior to the addition of a newrow of ties, suitable spacer means, such as two spacer strips 28 (Fig.6), are added to the stack for the vertical spacing of the stack rows.

The construction of a distribution apron ings in the apron through whichthe ties may be dropped onto the corresponding stack support, all butone of the openings being normally closed or barred and automatic meansbeing provided to uncover or unbar the openings in sequence. In puttingthis concept into practice, I

find it convenient to arrange for all but said one of the openings to beunbarred in response to the dropping of a tie through the precedingopening in the sequence of openings. A specific structure for such adelivery apron is shown, by way of example, in Figs. 2-6.

Each of the distribution aprons 26 includes an inclined frame 30suitably supported from overhead by bars 3!, the frame being preferablyadjustable in width to handle ties of various lengths. As best shown inFigs. 3 and 4,'the frame 30 may comprise two inwardly turned sidechannels 32 with a forward stop plate 33 fixedly attached to one of thesid channels and extended through Each of the two side channels 32 isprovided with a series of inwardly presented rollers 35 to facilitatemovement of the ties by gravity. Journalled in suitable bearings 36 onthe side channels 32 is a series of spaced cross shafts 3'! serving aspivots for a plurality of individual conveyor members 38.

It is contemplated that each of the conveyor members 38 will have anormal position to support and to convey ties but will be movable from anormal supporting position to a tie-releasing position, such movementbeing made in response to the weight of a tie. It is furthercontemplated that normally all but one of the conveyor members will benormally non-responsive to the weight of a tie on the apron but thateach of these will be rendered responsive automatically by the releaseof a tie by the preceding conveyor member in the sequence. In otherwords, normally only one conveyor member 38 will be responsive at anyone time and the response of any one conveyor member to the dropping ofa tie from the distribution conveyor will automatically make the nextsucceeding conveyor member responsive. As taught herein, a convenientexpedient for making the conveyor members 38 responsive in sequence isto arrange the conveyor members in overlapping relationship whereby aconveyor member in its normal position masks a weightresponsive meansfor actuating the next adjacent conveyor member, the weight-responsivemeans being exposed when the masking conveyor member responds to theweight of a tie.

In the specific construction shown, each conveyor member comprises oneof the cross shafts 31 and two spaced bars 40 fixedly mounted thereonfor rotation'therewith. Each of the bars 40 is provided with a pluralityof upwardly pressed rollers 4| to facilitate the gravity movement ofsuccessive ties across the distribution apron.

It is contemplated that the conveyor members 38 will be suitably biasedto seek their normal tie-supporting positions. In the presentconstruction, the gravitational tendency of the bars to to rotate aboutthe axes of corresponding cross shafts 3'! is relied upon to provide thedesired bias. It is also contemplated that suitable stop means will beprovided to hold the conveyor members 38 in their normal tie-suportingpositions in opposition to such bias and any suitable stop means may beemployed for this purpose. Thus, one cross shaft 3? may serve as a stopmeans to limit the biased rotation of the two bars 40 'on the adjacentcross shaft 31. In my preferred construction, however, the end of a bar46 that is mounted on one cross shaft 3'! serves as the stop means forthe corresponding bar 40 on the next adjacent cross shaft 31, the endsof the cross bars being beveled or inclined for this purpose,

' as bestshown by theinclined lines 48a in Fig. 5.

t is apparent that one bar 49 is in the path of counterclockwiserotation of the next adjacent bar $0 to the right thereof.

In my preferred practice, eachof the cross bars to is provided with aforwardly extending channel bar 42 to serve as the weight-responsivemeans for rotating the corresponding conveyor member 38 out of itsnormal tie-supporting position to a release position. Initially, withall of the conveyor members 38' in their normal tiesupporting positions,all of the channel bars 42 except the two channel bars at the end of thedistribution apron are masked by the adjacent conveyor members 38,- eachmasking bar to nesting into an underlying channel bar 42.

When a tie'T is dropped onto the distribution apron 2% by'one of thetiltable sections 25 of the main conveyor 23 while all of the conveyormembers 38 of the distribution conveyor are in their normal positions,the tie will gravitate along the rollers 4| to the front end of thedistribution apron against the stop plate 33 and then drop through theopening between the stop plate and t e cross shaft 31 carrying nearestpair of bars 40, which opening is designated 44 in Figure '7.

.draulic table '45 to receive theties.

is completed; No latching means or other'expedient is. required for thispurpose, however, because the vertical spacing between the distributionapron 26 and the stack support 21 is such that the deposited tie lies inthe path of return movement of the tilted conveyor member38 to maintainthe conveyor member in its tilted or release position. See Fig. 7. Inother words, the tie in falling into place on the stack support rotatesthe conveyor member and then holds the conveyor member in its releasedposition in opposition to the bias of the conveyor member. Suitable stopmeans may be provided to prevent rotation' of a conveyor member 38beyond its range of bias. In the present construction, however, such astop means is unnecessary because whenever a conveyor member 38 isrotated excessively clockwise, as viewed in Fig. 7, the conveyor memberis brought into abutmentagainst the end of the channel bar 42 of thenext adjacent conveyor member 33, this limit position of thetilted-conveyor member being indicated in dotted lines at 43 in Fig. 7.It may be desirable, however, to provide some other'simple expedient tolimit the rotation of the last conveyor member 38 to be tilted.,

When the second tie is delivered to the distribution apron 25, itgravitates to the opening uncovered by the tilting of the endmostconveyor member 38 and drops through that opening to the next positionin sequence on the stack of ties. This second tie may strik the tiltedendmost conveyor member 38, in which event the tilted conveyor memberserves as stop means to arrest the forward progress of the tie.

When a row of ties is completed on the stack support 21, as indicated inFig. 8, the stack support is lowered to make room for a new row of tiesand the consequent increase in vertical spacing-between the stacksupport and the distribution apron 26 automatically releases the tiltedconveyor members 38 from contact with the ties on the stack support,whereupon all of the conveyor members 38 return to their normal tiesupporting positions by virtue of their inherent bias.

Stack support 7 Each of the stack supports 2'! may comprise a table 45supported by a vertically movable hydraulic plunger 46. In preparationfor the stacking of ties onto the stack support, a suitable platform 41of the well-known type designed for cooperation with a lift truck isplaced on the hy- When a stack of ties is completed, the table 45retreats into a recess 50 in the floor to place the surface of the tableflush with the floor surface; whereupon a lift truck is moved intoposition for en gagement with the platform 41 to remove the platform andthe superimposed stack of ties.

. The plunger 46 is elevated by the operation of a suitable hydraulicpump and is lowered by the opening of'a suitable hydraulic valve, suchas thevalve indicated at 5| in Figs. 13. Since hydraulic systemsincorporating such pumps and valves ,are well known, no detaileddescription is necessary here.

Means for automatic operation The invention, as described to this point,may

be practiced to advantage by manual operation of the various valves 5|to lower the various hydraulic tables 45 and by manual positioning ofthe various spacer strips 23 when required. I prefer, however, toachieve even greater advantages by the addition of means to make thesequence of stacking operations largely, if not entirely, automatic.Various expedients that may be employed to make the above describedapparatus automatic will now be explained.

One requisite is that whenever a row of ties is completed on a stack thecorresponding hydraulic table 45 automatically descends by a distanceapproximately equal to the thickness of a tie, or, more specifically,the combined thickness of a tie and a spacer 28. A suitable expedientfor attaining this particular control is to provide an electric switchresponsive to tilting of the last conveyor member 38 in the sequentialoperation of the conveyor members on the distribution apron 26. Thus, asshown. in Fig. 2, the particular cross shaftSl that rotates when thelast of the conveyor members 38 tilts may be provided with an eccentric52 to close a normally open push-button switch 53 when a tie to completea row of ties drops through the last space in the sequence of spaces onthe distribution apron 26.

A further requisite for automatic operation is 'means to control thedownward movement of the erally designated 55, carried by the hydraulictable 45 and shows a second fixed elevation-control means, generallydesignated 55, for cooperation therewith, the control meansv 56 being indexed for spaced predetermined positions of the hydraulic table. Theelevation-control means may comprise a suitable switch 57 mounted on abracket 58 for actuation by the elevation-control means 56. Theelevation-control means 56' is shown in the form of a rigid post 60 witha cam face 5! turned toward the vertically movable switch 51, the camface having index recesses 62 for actuating the switch at various levelsof the hydraulic table. In the particular construction indicated, theswitch 51 has an operating plunger carrying a roller 65, the plungerbeing continuously urged outward by spring pressure to press the roller.against the post 60. When the roller 65 presses against the cam face 6|,the switch 66 is closed, and,'when the roller enters a recess 62, theswitch is thereby opened.

Preferably, suitable means is provided to indicate the completion of astack of ties on a hydraulic tab-1e 45. .Thus, Fig. 6 shows a normallyopen switch 65 that is operated by pressure from thepreviously'mentioned bracket 58 when the hydraulic table 45 reaches itslowermost position. Such a switch 66 may control any suitable audible orvisible signal device, such as a lamp 61.

A further requisite for automatic operation is supply of the stripsZBand'I provide a pair of horizontally spaced plungers 1| for eachmagazine to dispense the strips therefrom, as desired. The magazine 18comprises simply a box-like receptacle or frame dimensioned to slidinglyretain a single tier of the spacer strips, the box-like receptacle beingopen at the bottom and being spaced above a pair of feed guides 12 by adistance greater than the thickness of one spacer strip but less thanthe thickness of two spacer strips, The two feed guides 12 are spacedhorizontally to support each of the strip-s 28 at spaced points andextend into the region above the maximum top level of the stack of ties.

Each of the plungers 1| is in the form of a bar mounted in a pair ofslide bearings 13 and operatively connected by a link 15 to a crank pin19 on a wheel 11. The two wheels 11 for the plungers associated witheach magazine 10 are keyed to a common shaft 18 for rotation in unison.It is apparent that one complete rotation of the shaft 18 will cause acycle of operation in which the two plungers 1| will advance andretract. On the advance movement, the two plungers will dislodge aspacer strip 28 from the supply in the magazine 10 and force the stripalong the two feed guides 12 to cause the strip to drop into place onthe top row of ties of the stack.

The two shafts 18 on the opposite side of the stack station areoperatively connected for actuation by a common motor showndiagrammatically at 81 in Figure 10, and, for the purpose of control,one of the four crank wheels 11 is provided with a peripheral lug 89 forcooperation with a pair of spaced switches 8| and 82.

A suitable circuit arrangement incorporating the various switches forautomatic operation is shown in Figs..10-13. One main lead 85 from asuit-able source of E. M. F. is connected by a wire 86 with one side ofa motor 81 for actuating the two shafts 18 and is also connected by awire 88 to one side of a solenoid 98 for actuating the hydraulic valveThe core of the solenoid 98 is shown connected by a link 9| with anoperating arm 92 for the valve 5!, the solenoid acting against theopposition of a suitable spring 93.

Energization of the solenoid 99 opens the valve 5! to cause thecorresponding hydraulic table 45 to descend and de-energization or thesolenoid permits the spring 93 to close the valve thereby to hold thehydraulic table stationary.

The other of the two main leads 95 is con- 'nected to one side of theswitch 51 and is also connected to two contacts of the switch 8|, Theswitch 8| has {our contacts and a single contactor arm, as indicated.The second side of the switch '51 is in series with the coil of a relay98 and with the solenoid 98, the relay 98 being connected to thesolenoid by wires 91 and 98.

The switch 53 on the distribution apron 28 has four contacts and twocontactor arms, as shown, two of the contacts being connected by wiresI88 and H to two contacts, respectively, of

the switch 8|. A third contact of the switch 59 is connected by a wireN12 with the wire 98 leading to the solenoid 98 and the fourth contactis connected by a wire N33 to one side of the switch 82 and is alsoconnected by a wire I84 to the motor 81. The second side. of the switch82 is connected by a wire I85 with one of the contacts of the relay 98,the other contact of the relay being connected to the wire 91.

In the normal stationary position of the hydraulic table 45, the variousswitches are posi- -tioned,-as indicated in Fig. 10. It will be notedwhich serves as a switch-operating cam is driven by the motor 81.

Operation with automatic control The automatic operation of theapparatus may be readily understood from the foregoing description. Anoperator standing on the unloading platform 28 directs the successivelyunloaded ties ,onto the main conveyor 23 and operates suitable remotecontrol levers or pedals (not shown) to actuate the selected tiltable'sections 25 of the conveyor to cause the ties to be dispatched to theappropriate distribution aprons 28-, there being at least one suchdistribution apron for each different length of tie. The ties are fed byeach distribution apron 28 in automatic sequence to the underlyingstacksupports.

When the last conveyor member 38 in the sequential series on one of thedistribution aprons 26 is operated to complete a row of ties on thestack, as shown in Fig. 8, the distribution apron switch 53 isautomatically operated by rotation of the eccentric 52, both contactorarms of the switch closing, as shown in Fig. 11. As a result, thefollowing circuit is established through the motor 81: Lead 85, wire 86,motor 81, wire I94, one contactor arm of switch 53, wire IN and switch8| to the second lead 95.

The motor 81 drives the two shafts 18 to rotate ing the two plungers 1|on each side of the stack to extend and retract. The extension of thetwo plungers on each side of the stack dislodges a spacer strip 28 fromthe corresponding magazine 10 forcing the strip outward along the guides12 and causing the spacer strips to drop into place on the stack ofties.

At the beginning of this cycle of operation for positioning spacers onthe stack, the initial movement of the lug away from the switch 82causes the switch 82 to close but the relay 98 remains de-energized.When the plungers 1| are retracted at the end of the describedspacer-positioning cycle, the lug 88 reaches the switch 8| and forcesthe switch 8| to its second position, as shown in Fig. 12, therebyestablishing the following circuit through the valve solenoid 98: Lead85, wire 88, solenoid 98, wire 98, wire I02, one contactor arm of switch53, wire I80 and switch 8| to lead 95.

The energization of the solenoid 98 causes the valve 5| to open inopposition to the spring 93, whereupon the hydraulic table 45 movesdownward. The initial downward movement of the hydraulic table carriesthe roller 65 of the switch 51 out of an index recess 62 and onto thecam face 6| thereby causing the switch 51 to close. The closing of theswitch 51 establishes the following circuit through the motor 81: Lead85, wire 86, motor 81, wire I84, wire I03, switch 82, wire I95, thecontactor arm of relay 98, wire 91, the coil of relay 98 and switch 51to the second lead 95. The energized motor turns the wheel 11 andtherefore carries the lug 88 away from the switch 8| towards the switch82 to cause return of the switch 8| to its normal position (shown willsuggest'to those skilled in the art various changes and substitutionsunder my basic conin Figure 10) and ashort time later tocaus'ereturn ofthe'switch 82 to itsnormal open position. During an early portion ofthis. interval of.time initiated by operation of the switch Bilandterminated bythe subsequentopening of the switch 82, :a second motorcircuit is closed in parallel with the motor circuit just described, thesecond parallel circuit being traced as follows: lead 85,.

motor 81, wire I04, wire I03, switch 82, wire I05, contactor of relay96, wire 91, the coil of relay 96 and switch 51 to thesecond lead 95.Before the lug 80 on. the wheel 11 reaches the switch 82 to cause theswitch to open, the hydraulic table 45 lowers to such extent that thetop row of ties releases the various tilted conveyor members 38 of thedistribution apron 26 thereby operating the apron switch 53 and causingboth of the contactor arms of the switch 53 to take their normal openposition. The opening of the switch 53 breaks the second parallel motorcircuit just described and the motor is soon deenergized when the lug 83opens the switch 82 to break the first described motor circuit.

The above described movement of the lug 89 from the switch 8| to theswitch 82 breaks the heretofore, described circuit for energizing thesolenoid 98 but not before a second circuit is established to keep thesolenoid energized. The second solenoid circuit is traced as follows:

As the hydraulic table 45 moves downward towards the next predeterminedlevel, the top row of ties releases the various conveyor members 38 ofthe distribution apron 26, whereuponthe apron switch 53 is operated,both the contactor arms of the switch moving to open position asindicated in Fig. 13. This operation of the switch 53 does not, however,de-energize the valve solenoid 90 because the following circuit isefiective through the solenoid: Lead 85, wire 88, solenoid 90, wire 98',wire 91, relay coil 95 and switch 51 to the second lead 95. Eventuallythe lowering of the hydraulic table 45 carries the roller 65 into thenext index recess 62 to open the switch and thereby deenergize thesolenoidilii to permit the spring 93 to shut the valve 5|. The valveparts of the circuit are then in the original positions of Fig. 10, thehydraulic table 45 remaining stationary for theprogressive formation ofanother row of ties thereon.

Eventually a hydraulic table 45 reaches the lowermost index recess 62,whereupon the bracket 58 comes into contact with the switch 66 tooperate the signal means 61. The signal means attractsthe attention ofan operator who thereupon brings up a lift truck to remove the finishedstack of ties. After the finished stack is removed, an empty platform isplaced on the cleared bydraulic table 45 and the operator manipulatesthe control of the hydraulic system to pump the hydraulic table to itshighest predetermined level for starting a new stack of ties.

In the described automatic operation, control is governed by thecompletion of a row of objects on a stack support.

The completion of a row causes three actions; namely, the placing ofspacer meanson the stack, the-lowering of the stack and the restoringofthe conveyor members rality of conveyor members providing a conveyorpath above and across said stack support for distributing the objectsonto the stack support,said means and said plurality of conveyor membersbeing variable with respect to the vertical distance therebetween, eachof said conveyor members being rotatable about a transverse axis inresponse to the weight of an object from a normal position to a releaseposition for dropping the object onto said stack support, said conveyor.members being biased towards their nprmal positions, the normal verticaldistance between said stack support and said plurality of conveyormembers being such that obg ects released to the stack support block thereturn movement of the corresponding conveyor members to their normalpositions whereby the conveyor members may be released by'sufltlcientincrease in the distance.

2. In an apparatus of the class described for handling objects such asties, means to receive and support a stack of the objects, a pluralityof conveyor members providing a conveyor path above and across saidstack support for distributing the objects onto the stack support, eachof said conveyor members being rotatable about a transverse axis inresponse to the weight of an object from a normal position to a releaseposition for dropping the object onto said stack support, said conveyormembers being biased towards theirnormal positions, the verticaldistance .between said stack support and said plurality of conveyormembers being such that objects releasedto the stack support block thereturn movement of the corresponding conveyor members to their normalpositions, and means to causerelative vertical movement-between saidstack support and said plurality of conveyor members thereby to makeroom for a new row of objects on the stack support and thereby toreleasesaid conveyor members for automatic return to their normalpositions. 3. In an apparatus of the class described for handlingobjects such as ties, means to receive and support a stack of theobjects, a plurality of conveyor members providing a conveyor pathacross and above said stack support for distributing the objects ontothe stack support, each of said conveyor members being movablefrom aconveying position to a release position to drop an object onto saidstack support, said conveyor members being so constructed and arrangedas to operate automatically in sequence to drop the objects tosequential positions on said stack support, means to increase thevertical distance between said stack support and said conveyor memone ofsaid objects, and means to operate said distance-increasing meansautomatically when of the distribution apron to their normal positions.Obviously the order in which these three actions occur in response tothe completion of a row may differ in various practices of theinvention.

The preferred practices of my invention described herein in detail forthe purpose of disclosure and to illustrate the principles involvedallof said conveyor members are moved to their release positions.

4. In an apparatus of the class described for handling objects such asties, means to receive and support a stack of the objects, a pluralityof conveyor members providing a conveyor path across and above saidstack support for distributing the objects onto the stack support, eachof said conveyor members being movable from a conveying position to arelease position to drop an object onto said stack support, saidconveyor members being so constructed and arranged as to operateautomatically in sequence to drop the objects to sequential positions onsaid stack support, means to increase the vertical distance between saidstack support and said conveyor members periodically by substantiallythe thickness of one of said objects, and means to operate saiddistance-increasing means in response to the operation of the last ofsaid conveyor members in the sequence.

5. In an apparatus of the class described for handling objects suchjasties, means to support a stack of the objects, a conveyor meansextending across and above said stack-support means, said conveyor meanshaving a series of openings through which the objects may drop intocorresponding positions on said stack-support means, one of said meansbeing fixed in elevation, the other of said means being verticallymovable, means normally barring said openings, said barring means beingso constructed and arranged as. to operate in sequence to drop theobjects in sequence for the-formation of a stack on said stack-supportmeans, a first fixed control means extending vertically adjacent saidmovable means, a second control means for cooperation with aid firstcontrol means to control the vertical position of said movable means,said second control means being carried by said movable means formovement therewith, oneof said control means having a series of spacedcontrol points, actuating means to actuate said movable meansperiodically away from said fixed means in a step-by-step mannerdetermined by the spacing of said series of control points thereby toprovide space for the addition of a new row of objects on saidstack-support means, and means to operate said actuating meansautomatically in response to the completion of a row of objects on saidstack-support means.

6. In-an apparatus of the class described for handling objects such asties, means to support a stack of the objects, a conveyor meansextending across and above said stack-support means, said conveyor meanshaving a series of openings through which the objects may drop tocorresponding positions on said stack-support means, one of said meansbeing fixed in elevation, the other of said means being verticallymovable, means normally barring said openings, said barring means beingso constructed and arranged as to operate in sequence to drop theobjects in sequence for the formation of a stack on said stack-supportmeans, a first fixed control means extending vertically adjacent saidmovable means, a second control means for cooperation with said firstcontrol means to control the vertical. position of said movable means,said second control means being carried by -said movable means formovement therewith,;actuating means to move said movable meanperiodically away from said fixed meansin a step-by-step mannercontrolled by said two control means thereby to provide space for theaddition of a new row of objects on saidstack-support means, andmeans tooperate said actuating means in responseto unbarring of the. last of.said. openings in the sequence.

7. Means for distributingties onto a stack support comprising a seriesofv transverse members above the stack support positioned sequentiallyat progressively lower positions to define apath of gravity movement forthe ties, said transverse members being of greater spacing than thewidth of a tie, two longitudinal conveyor members mounted in spacedrelationon each of saicltransverse members. for forward rotation about atransverse axis from a normal tie-supporting: position to atie-releasing position, each of said conveyor members having atie-supporting portion extending uphill from its axis of rotation and aweight-responsiveportion extending downhill from its axis, thetie-supporting portion of one conveyor member normally overlying theweight-responsive portion of the adjacent conveyor member uphilltherefrom, and a plurality of conveyor rollers on each of saidtie-supporting portions.

8. Means for distributing ties onto a stack support comprising a seriesof transverse members above the stack support positioned sequentially atprogressively lower positions to define apath of gravity movement forthe ties, said transverse members being of greater spacing thanthe'width of a tie, spaced longitudinally positioned bars mounted oneach of said transverse members, each of said bars being normally in atie-supporting position extending toward the next transverse memberuphill therefrom, each of said bars being rotatable forward from itsnormal tie-supporting position to a tie-releasing position, a pluralityof conveyor rollers on each of said bars, and longitudinalweight-responsive means operatively connected to and extending downhillfrom each of said bars, each of said bars in its normal positionextending above one of said weight-responsive means to prevent operationthereof.

9. Means for distributing ties onto a stack support comprising a seriesof transverse members above the stack support positioned sequentially atprogressively lower positions to define a path of gravity movement forthe ties, said transverse membersbeing of greater spacing than the widthof a tie, spaced longitudinally positioned bars mounted on each of saidtransverse members, each of said bars. being normally in atie-supportingv position extending toward'the next transverse memberuphill therefrom, each of said bars being rotatable forward from itsnormal tiesupporting position to'a tie-releasing position, a pluralityof conveyor rollers on each of said bars, longitudinal weight-responsivemeans operatively connected to and extending downhill from each of saidbars, each of said bars in its normal position extending above one ofsaid weight-responsive means to prevent operation thereof, and meansmounting a plurality of guide rollers on each side of said seriesof'transverse members for contact by the ends of the ties toconflnethegravitating ties to the desired path.

DWIGHT C. CURTIS.

